Chapter 20 · Three Breaths Left

"Counter's at three." Iris's voice comes through the cracked headset, tight and brittle. "Noah's not here. He was never here."

I'm standing in the control room, staring at twelve dead monitors. Blood on my knuckles. Door hanging off one hinge. The chair Noah should be sitting in is empty, still warm.

"What do you mean he's not there?" I kick the chair over. It hits the wall and the backrest snaps clean off. "I saw him. I chased him up fourteen floors."

"You saw footage," Iris says. "Pre-recorded. He's been running you in circles while the counter runs down."

I look at my wrist. The three glows red, pulsing slower now, like a dying heartbeat. My fingers are shaking. I clench them into fists but that just makes the tremor worse.

"Where are you?" I ask.

"Twelfth floor. Server room. Cade, listen—"

"Stay there."

"Cade, you need to hear this before you—"

I rip the headset off and throw it at the monitors. It bounces off the center screen and the static cuts out. Silence drops over the room like a burial shroud.

Three.

I've got three loops left. Three deaths.